Tuesday, October 30, 2007

No “Trick or Treat” For Sex Offender Parolees
SACRAMENTO – Parole agents from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) will be enforcing special limits on sex offenders to ensure that they stay home and away from children on Halloween night.

“Our agents will be out in force, checking on sex offenders, to ensure that they stay behind locked doors, in dark houses, with absolutely no contact with ‘trick or treaters’ on Halloween night,” said Tom Hoffman, CDCR Director of Parole. “Our goal is to make sure that children have a carefree night free of any potential contact with sex offenders.”

CDCR imposes its most stringent parole conditions on sex offenders, including mandatory curfews and treatment, and limitations on their behavior and where they live to prevent contact with potential victims. Even so, sex offenders are held to even stricter limits on their behavior on Halloween night, when children are on the streets and going door-to-door, sometimes through unfamiliar neighborhoods.

Among the Special Conditions of Parole imposed on sex offenders for Halloween night:

• A 5pm to 5 am curfew during which parolees must remain indoors;
• All exterior lights of their homes must be turned off so that it looks as if no one is home, which takes away any opportunity for children to be tempted to ring the door bell;
• No offering of Halloween candy and no Halloween decorations are allowed;
• During the curfew, sex offender parolees can only open the door to respond to law enforcement, such as parole agents who are patrolling their caseload to ensure compliance.

All CDCR parole agents will be enforcing these conditions on their caseloads individually. In some regions, such as Sacramento and Fresno, CDCR agents will conduct what has become an October tradition. During “Operation Boo,” agents and police will work together to knock on the doors of sex offenders who are on parole or probation to ensure they comply with all the special restrictions.